If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Engine Shut-off Delay

Hi everyone. I'm looking to get some feedback from some Prius owners. I'm concerned that there might be a problem with my '07 Touring Prius and its ablility to shut-down the engine when coming to a stop.

I'm aware that in cold weather or in the first 5-10 minutes of driving, the engine might hang in there a couple extra seconds when you come to a stop. When I first purchased my Prius, after the first 5 minutes of driving, the engine would immediately shut off (and I do mean immediately) when I began to coast or when I came to a complete stop. Which is awesome and what I expected. However, after I've accumulated a few thousand miles, I find that even beyond the first 10 minutes, I'll come to a complete stop and sometimes 10-15 seconds go by before it shuts off. Sometimes I'll be coasting and I'll notice that the regenarative breaking is kicked in (all blue arrows) yet my MPG isn't 99.9. Instead it'll be in the low 90's mid 80's and I'll can feel the engine running for 5 - 10 seconds or so before it shuts off and I'm back to 99.9.

I normally wouldn't be concerned, but in taking the exact same repetitive routes it's engine shut-off behavior now compared to the first 2,000 miles is definitely more erratic.

So to get down to it (and before I call service), is this expected? You know...after a break-in period is this how the engine-shut off program behaves for other owners?

Engine Shut-off Delay

We are also experiencing the same problem as you with our new 2007 Prius. Our first 600 miles it shut off like clockwork. I've been anxiously waiting to see any responses to your thread to see if this is normal.

We did take our car back to the dealer and they said that there is no rhyme nor reason to when the engine cuts in, except when it was needed. We originally could run in battery mode to 25 mpg. Now it's only 10 mpg sometimes less (slowly increasing speed) At lower speeds or at idle our gas engine occasionally cuts in and out with a "ker-thunk". Even if we stop somewhere for 30 minutes the gasoline engine cuts in when we start the car up again.

We've wanted this car since it first came out, and I'm delighted we finally have one. So far in the first 1,000 miles I've averaged 48 mpg (mostly rural/resort driving). I am using the mpg as a gauge to measure that the car is functioning within it's normal realm even though it has these quirks. Hard to compare normal with no prior experience.

Unfortunately, you're the only one to respond so far. But our experience sounds the same. Even after an hour of driving, I'll come to a stop and the engine can take 10-15 seconds to shut off. On the opposite end, I used to be able to get around in the city without even using the gasoline engine. And I'm talking 20-30 total blocks of driving. Now I can only go 3-4 blocks before the gasoline engine becomes ultra-sensitive and kicks on beyond the gentlest tap of the accelerator.

For me there's no question that this had effect the performance of my Prius. I've gone from 53mpg in the city before whatever it was happened to 45mpg. Yet my my highway mpg remains relatively unchanged.

I just hate when I've been driving for over 20 minutes and I come to a stop. I watch my MPG drop 0.1, then another until it shuts off. When driving in the city, that 0.1 drop really accumulates after every stop.

Well, I'm taking my car in next week. Hopefully I get a promising answer. I'll keep you posted, gotmyhybrid.

Thanks for the reply. Keep me informed on what your mechanic says. We are debating on taking ours into DC to see what the mechanic says there. They have a larger fleet of Prius's to maintain so I would hope they have better trained mechanics.

I find myself stopping and talking with Prius owners on the street to see if their cars do the same thing. They have all said no, but they don't have the 2007 model either.

It's funny but it seems as though I'm driving more in battery mode at 40-50mph than I am from idle-25mph. Good Luck. I hope you get an answer.

Well. I got an answer. It wasn't the one I was looking for, but it an answer nonetheless. My dealership pulled a mechanic that specializes in servicing the hybrid models. He said they ran a diagnostic test and check the capacities oh the hybrid components and everything appears to be great condition. He's had some people bring the same problem up. He indicated that over time the Prius will "learn" your driving habits, and the program that handles battery charge will be affected as well. The Prius will do what it can to give the best efficiency possible, but will take the health of the battery over efficiency.

So while I usually drive with the heat and air conditioner off, the Prius might still be thinking it needs to spend more time charging the battery. While I was hoping to get my car back and have the problem solved, he was able to give me an answer I was comfortable with. I am new to the hybrid market. So I won't disqualify the fact that the Prius could indeed be modifying its program to give me a longer lasting, healthier battery.

However, since taking my car to the dealership, I noticed a significant decrease in my warm-up time upon starting the car. It's at least twice as fast. Now that doesn't solve my issue with the engine shut-off (which, I guess, really isn't an issue at all). Yet it will help my MPG a bit.

So that's that. Let me know what you find in you DC ventures, gotmyhybrid. I really appreciate your input. Have a great one.

We also have 2007 Prius our

We also have 2007 Prius our motor shuts down alright most of the time when we come to a stop but I really hadn't paid that much attention to it, we will now.

We have another problem with our 2007 prius it's to do with shutting it off, both my wife and I have had the same thing happen we shut ithe car off and go to get out of the car and the car was not actully shut off and it takes off on us it has happend 4 times to my wife and 5 times to me the last time it happened to my wife the car went about 500 feet before my wife caught up with it and shut it off.